Healthcare

Keep patient services running and patient data protected.

In healthcare, a cyber incident can delay patient care as well as expose patient data. We help providers keep an incident in one system from reaching clinical services, meet NIS2 and NHS assurance expectations, and introduce AI into clinical and administrative work with proper human oversight.

Get in touch Recommended engagements

Situations we help with

Across hospitals and health systems; primary and community care; diagnostics and laboratories; and pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.

Clinical systems, medical devices, and administrative IT share networks, and an incident in one could disrupt patient care in another.
Your Data Security and Protection Toolkit, now aligned to the Cyber Assessment Framework, includes outcomes you cannot yet evidence.
Suppliers that host or process patient data work to different security standards, and contracts do not set clear notification duties.
Clinicians are using AI tools for documentation or triage before the organisation has agreed which are approved and how their outputs are checked.
Your board has asked how long critical services could run without key systems, and nobody has a tested answer.

The challenges

Clinical systems and connected devices

Patient records, imaging, pathology, and connected medical devices depend on shared networks, and some devices cannot be patched quickly. An incident in one system can delay care elsewhere.

Sensitive data across many hands

Patient data moves between providers, suppliers, and research partners, so protection depends on controls that hold at every handover.

Supplier and system dependence

Patient records, pathology, and imaging can rely on a small number of suppliers, and an outage or compromise at one can affect many organisations at once.

Assurance under constrained budgets

Providers face assurance expectations from regulators and commissioners while competing for the same budget as frontline care, so security investment needs a clear case based on patient impact.

ENISA's analysis of 215 publicly reported cyber incidents in the EU health sector between January 2021 and March 2023 found ransomware behind 54% of them, with hospitals affected in 42% of incidents.

Source: ENISA Threat Landscape: Health Sector, July 2023

AI in healthcare

Clinical documentation

The value: More clinician time with patients.
What needs governing: Errors in records that inform care, and patient data sent to services the organisation has not approved.

Triage and decision support

The value: Faster prioritisation of patients and results.
What needs governing: Outputs that inform care decisions need competent human review and evidence that the tool performs safely.

Administration and scheduling

The value: Shorter waits and better use of clinics and theatres.
What needs governing: Decisions about access to care made by systems nobody has checked for accuracy or fairness.

AI Factory Design sets the rules for approval, data access, and clinical oversight across these uses, so AI tools are adopted on evidence and with clear accountability. It is part of our AI Governance and Transformation practice.

Regulation that may apply

NIS2 (EU)

Applies to: Healthcare providers, EU reference laboratories, and certain pharmaceutical research and manufacturing entities are in a sector of high criticality, and medical device manufacturers are among the other critical sectors, where they meet the size thresholds in each Member State's law.
What it asks: The management body approves the cybersecurity risk management measures, oversees their implementation, and undergoes training. A significant incident requires an early warning to the CSIRT or competent authority without undue delay and within 24 hours of becoming aware.
Timing: Applies through national law. The transposition deadline was 17 October 2024, and Member States have adopted their laws at different times.

Data Security and Protection Toolkit (England)

Applies to: Organisations with access to NHS patient data and systems in England.
What it asks: An annual self-assessment. For NHS trusts, integrated care boards, and arm's-length bodies it has been aligned to the Cyber Assessment Framework since September 2024, with further outcomes on using and sharing information.
Timing: Submitted annually.